How to Help the Holy Souls in Purgatory

Interview
With Susan Tassone

By by JOSEPH PRONECHEN

Susan Tassone
won’t admit it, but she is one of the experts on the souls in purgatory.

Her credentials speak for
her. She has written six books on the subject, among them one co-written with
Father Benedict Groeschel of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. Cardinal Ivan
Dias, former prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples,
wrote the foreword to her latest book, which has an imprimatur,
Praying With the Saints for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. She has
recently begun her seventh book.

This week, beginning
today, Monday, Oct. 24, Tassone will be Johnnette Benkovic’s guest on her EWTN
television show
Women of Grace. Tassone will be sharing some new insights about Pope
St. Gregory the Great and his connection to the holy souls and purgatory. On
Nov. 2, All Souls’ Day, she will be Father Mitch Pacwa’s guest on
EWTN Live.

She recently spoke about
what we can do to help the souls in purgatory.

What is the best devotion
to help the souls in purgatory?

The holy sacrifice of the
Mass is the chief source of devotion for the holy souls.

So, the most powerful
means to relieve or release a soul from purgatory is through the Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass. You’ll find that in the Catechism. It says it in 1032: “From the
beginning, the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in
suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified,
they may attain the beatific vision of God.”

In Praying With the
Saints for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, I have Pope Benedict XVI’s writings
that point to having Masses offered for the souls in purgatory. [One extensive
quote is from Sacramentum Caritatis (Sacrament of Charity).]

After the Mass, the next
most powerful way to help the souls is the Rosary, the most powerful Marian
prayer on earth — in her approved apparitions, Mary says pray the Rosary for
peace in the world, in your hearts, in your family — and the Stations of the
Cross, because they’re indulgenced. You have to be in the state of grace to help
the souls in purgatory.

When we pray for the
souls, we’ve got to remember we’re giving them paradise, the face of God, when
we get them out sooner from purgatory. Our prayers are shortening this horrible
suffering of being without God. They then show us their gratitude in the same
proportion to their joy.

You recommend Gregorian
Masses be offered for souls. What are they, how did they come about, and why are
they important?

Gregorian Masses are
absolutely the best way to help souls out of purgatory. The background behind
them is a fascinating story.
Pope St. Gregory was a sickly man and had a physician who took care of him
throughout his life. The physician, named “Justus,” was also a Benedictine monk
in Rome, where the Church of St. Gregory remains today. When Justus was dying,
St. Gregory told Justus’ blood brother to take care of him because he also was a
physician. While taking care of him, the brother found three gold coins in
Justus’ cell. Benedictines took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

The brother told the
monks, and they told St. Gregory. He was really upset because he expected the
monks to take the vow seriously. Because Justus violated the vow of poverty,
Gregory would not allow any of the monks to visit him during his last illness
and console or pray with him. Justus was crushed. He wept and was repentant for
keeping the coins.

Gregory knew he was in
purgatory. He ordered 30 Masses to be said for the soul of Justus. Why 30? Why
not 40 or 50 Masses?

The reason is: Gregory
was bringing back the tradition from the Old Testament — Israelites mourning for
the dead 30 days, such as for Moses and Aaron.

After the 30th Mass,
Justus appeared to his blood brother and said he was released from purgatory.
The brother had no idea Masses were being said for Justus. He ran to the
monastery and told the monks, who told St. Gregory, who already knew because he
already had a private revelation that Justus was released from purgatory.

Word spread all over
Rome. People came to the monastery to have Masses said for their loved ones —
then priests from France and Spain, and then priests from all over came to Rome
to offer Masses at that altar for their loved ones. That altar still exists to
this day in the Church of Sts. Andrew and Gregory in Rome. These first Gregorian
Masses were offered at this altar.

The altar has three
panels, all in relief carvings and engraved in Latin saying St. Gregory had
freed the soul of this monk by 30 Masses. The middle panel shows our suffering
Lord appearing to Gregory at the altar. The third panel says, in Latin, that St.
Gregory is offering Masses in this room to release souls from purgatory. It’s
strikingly beautiful. I will show pictures of the altar on Father Pacwa’s show.

Is there a guarantee a
soul gets released after the 30 Masses?

Although the practice is
approved by the Church, there is no official guarantee. Still, it is a custom
that underscores the power of the holy Mass.

A parish normally will
not be able to offer 30 consecutive Masses for the same soul. Where can we get
Gregorian Masses said?

Why do we need constant
reminders to have Masses said for the dead and offer prayers for them? Why pray
for the holy souls?

Because God’s justice
demands expiation of their sins. Christ told St. Faustina that his mercy didn’t
want to send a soul to purgatory, but his justice demands it (Diary 1226,
20).

He places in our hand the
means to assist them. We are their only resource. We have an obligation to pray
for our loved ones.

Can we say that one goes
straight to heaven? Can we say that soul was totally pure and holy and in line
with God’s will to go to heaven at once?

We don’t know what the
state of the soul was at the hour of death, and we tend to canonize everybody.
Only God knows the state of the soul, if it is totally in line with his will.
He’s all-holy and majestic and pure.

But we’re given this
great power and privilege to release souls from purgatory. Only we are the
deliverers. Christ turns to the Church militant. Heaven encourages us. For
whatever reason, we’ve been given this great honor and privilege. We’re
responsible to pray for our dead.

But what happens if the
soul then gets to heaven and you continue to have Masses and prayers offered?

The common answer is that
God will apply those Masses to other souls in purgatory or to the most in need
or souls in your family. But there’s more: If the soul is already in heaven, and
you continue to have Masses said for them and continue to pray for them, what
they get is a term we get from Thomas Aquinas — “accidental glory.”

The soul gets an increase
in its intimacy with God and an increase in its intercessory power. So the
lesson is this: Never stop praying for your dead, no matter how long they’ve
been gone. You continue to push them up higher. The prayers are never wasted.
God is never outdone in generosity.

Why do you often point
out the importance of having Masses offered while the person is alive, including
Masses for yourself?

I asked Father Edward
McNamara, well-known professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum in Rome
about that.

There are three main
reasons why Masses should be offered for loved ones while alive. First, it’s an
infinite gift. It never stops giving. A living person is still capable of
growing in sanctifying grace, so the effect of this incredible grace is they may
willingly receive it to be more Christ-like. You have to respond. When you have
Masses offered for loved ones and you pray, they respond to the grace.

Second, if it’s offered
as intercession for a person in the state of actual mortal sin, it may supply
the grace necessary for conversion.

Third, it also fits in
the sanctity of healing people.

Who do you miss the most?
Who do you wish you could have done more for? Who helped you spiritually and
temporally? Who had a major impact on your life? Your enemies or those who hurt
you: Have Masses said for them. Have Masses said for yourself. Mass heals the
living and deceased. Pray for the living now, for their eternity.

Purgatory points to the
seriousness of sin and points out we have to pray and do penance in our own
lives.

The Catechism says, in
958, “Our prayer for them is capable not only of helping them, but also of
making their intercession for us effective.” They can’t help themselves, but
they can pray for us. So, the more we pray for them, the more effective their
intercession is for us.

Why are they called poor
souls and holy souls?

They’re called poor
because their poverty is the loss of the sight of God. They’re called poor
because they can no longer merit; they can’t help themselves. They rely totally
on us. We’re their only resource.

Nothing is done alone.
The Church Militant reaches out to the Church Suffering and joins them to the
Church Triumphant.

And they’re called the
holy souls because they can no longer sin. They know they’re saved. They know
heaven is awaiting them.

Can you tell us about the
new book you’re working on?

This next book takes it
into the deeper level mining purgatory. We will be talking about the will of
God. It will be a comprehensive prayer book for souls in purgatory, along with
thoughts on purgatory and nine reflections on purgatory from saints like Aquinas
to Gregory to Catherine of Genoa; and it will include writings of Blessed John
Paul II on purgatory.

How can we avoid
purgatory?

St. John of the Cross
said, “God provides.” So avoid sin. Pray the Rosary. Go to monthly confession.
Accept trials. Forgive. The more you pray on earth — constant, fervent prayer
throughout life — the closer you will be to getting out of purgatory if you go
there.

Do the souls in purgatory
help us in this regard?

Because of their great
love for us, they’re not only anxious for leaving purgatory, they’re most
concerned about our salvation, especially the salvation of their loved ones.
They can intercede for us while in purgatory. Their prayers help us recognize
our sins and help us understand the malice of sins. And so they reproach us
through inspirations of the Holy Spirit. They want us to become holy and saints
here. They don’t want us to go to the true purgatory.

Do you have any other
advice? Perhaps for educating children that seems especially appropriate with
Halloween and All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day coming up?

Pray for the dying. Pray
the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for them. Your prayer can give a soul the grace of
final repentance. Join the Pious Union of St. Joseph for the Dying.

Nov. 1-8 you can receive
a plenary indulgence when you visit a cemetery on those days and apply it to a
soul in purgatory.

Remember the children.
Teach them the meaning of All Souls’ Day. Take them to the cemeteries. Teach
them to sprinkle holy water on the graves. Plant the seed of reverence for the
dead, and, in due time, this will assure us of their aid.